The gravel crunched under the carriage wheels, and Orn watched the carriage heading back toward the capital. He suddenly felt a sense of excitement and anxiety. He rarely spent time away from his parents, but even that time was usually spent with other relatives. Here, he was alone.

“Did you know dogs make a similar expression when their keepers go to the market?” Kao asked.

‘Alone’ was probably not the right word, Orn thought as he turned to see Kao watching him. “Says the goddess who follows me around.” He slung the large canvas bag over his shoulder and started through the academy gate.

“Sadly I have to,” Kao said with mock dismay. “My puppy has a tendency to chew on the furniture if he is not taken for a walk. Being in the carriage that long had you suffering from cabin fever. You are fortunate, I had the time to try to make you laugh.”

“Laugh?” Orn stopped cold in his tracks and stared at her. An exaggerated look of horror spread across his face. “You randomly appeared a the window, and expected those faces to be funny. You are already terrifying enough to look at.”

Orn laughed and ran as she chased after him yelling.

…

Their banter along the academy’s mile long drive had lighted his mood noticeably. Ahead of him he saw a table at the end of the drive. A man in gray robes seated behind it stared down at a stack of papers in front of him. Kao must have also noticed the man, as she changed to redundant questions so he did not need to answer.

“I will never understand why all countries make schools out of brick.” She said pointing at the massive brick buildings around him. “Was there a meeting held at some point? Is it where they all decided that temples should be made out of white marble?”

Orn half listened and walked up to the table. The man was staring at a stack of papers a pencil working furiously on one. “Excuse me.”

The man stopped writing and looked up. His gazed passed quickly over Orn then he returned to his papers. “West barracks,” the man casually pointed with his thumb to Orn’s left. “Go that way and look for other students in uniforms. They will direct you.” The man then added a tally mark to one of the sheets.

Orn would have asked for better directions but he got a distinct impression that he would not get them. Instead he thanked the man and walked in the indicated direction.

The path lead Orn around a large classroom building, and to a cobblestone path leading west. As he walked he saw a few students dressed as the Duke’s son had been. As the got further from the center of the campus he noticed the buildings seemed older and less well maintained. The cobblestones had even given way to a gravel path. He was about to turn around thinking he had gone too far when he saw a pair of uniformed student further up the path.

As he approached, he noticed pair of dirt ruts that seemed to head back toward the academy entrance. I wonder if that was the path leading away from the main drive I ran past?

One of the older boys noticed him and waived him over. “First year?”

“Yes,” Orn replied, “I am Orn…”

“Nice to meet you Orn,” the second student interrupted smiling. “It looks like you will be in the South barracks with me.”

“The man at the table said west,” Orn pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “I think he took a tally. Should I tell him?”

“Let me guess,” the first boy asked, looking down the dirt path. “There was no one on the road when you came through.”

“No.” Orn shook his head.

“Great,” the first boy muttered sighing. He then turned to the other boy. “Check on Torren.”

“Will do,” the other boy replied, already running down the dirt path. “Nice to meet you Orn!”

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“West barracks it is then Orn,” the first boy said, pulling out a slate tablet and making a tally of his own on it. “Just keep straight on the path and you cannot miss it. You can even see it from here.”

Orn nodded an adjusted the bag on his shoulder, and continued onward. The path wandered a bit in front of him, but he could see a brick building at the end of it. Once he reached the building he saw a small bronze plate reading “West Barracks.”

Here we are, Orn thought, looking at the plate. He stepped through the open door and turned as he heard Kao say she was not coming in.

“Too many boys who need a bath,” she said, and scrunched up her face. “I will be out here when you come back out.”

“New student?” An old man asked pulling Orn’s attention from the goddess disappearing from view.

“Yes I was told…” Orn began, looking at the stooped bald man.

The old man cut him off. “I am sure you were. Find any free bunk on the first floor on the right side. Four students to a room.” The man then turned away from Orn, intent on the floor he swept.

Orn thanked him anyway, and walked down the hall. He passed a few closed doors, and a pair of staircases before siing rooms with bunks and students in them. The first several clearly had four occupants, so kept on. Eventually, he noticed a room with only three boys in it.

He cautiously stuck his head in. “Is there a free bunk in this room?”

“There was. You are number four,” one of the students inside said. “Come on in.”

Orn walked in, glancing at the door tag ‘15’ .

“The free bunk is the bottom over there,” the boy added, and pointed to the lower bunk against the wall to Orn’s left.

Orn threw his bag onto it, glad to be free of the sack.

“Since we are all here,” The student continued, “We need to introduce ourselves. I am Travers.”

“Jack,” came the voice from the bunk above where Orn had just threw down his things.

Orn looked up to see a large black haired boy smiling down at him.

“I am Bloom,” said the student lounging on the other bottom bunk. “You have a lot of stuff there and your uniform is well made.” The boy seemed to think for a moment before adding, “Is your father a merchant?”

“No, he is …” Orn began only to be stopped by Travers waving frantically for him to stop.

“Wait. Do not tell us. We have been guessing what everyone’s parents do to kill time since there is nothing else to do,” Travers said slowing down his waiving hands. “So just tell us yes, or no. Also your name if you would.”

“No, fair!” Bloom complained sitting up in his bunk. “I guessed before hearing his name!”

“Sounds like a personal problem,” Travers replied smiling. “While we are guessing go and put your stuff up. The dresser at the end of the bunk belongs to you and Jack, the bottom two shelves are yours.”

“I am Orn,” he supplied and moved to the dresser. Orn began to place his spare uniforms in the drawers, while his roommates considered their guesses.